In the world of near-LP replica guitars competition is fierce, prices are high, and the devil is truly in the details. Nailing the formula accurately and consistently is the stuff of legend, the realm of "world class," and "master built." To be sure, the perfect near-LP guitar is a super-instrument of epic proportions and there are few guitar builders able to take it all the way there. Here at DAG, in our ongoing worldwide search for the very best guitars we were absolutely overjoyed to discover violin builder turned near-LP perfectionist Valery Vaschenko. Why, you ask? Well, "because...amazing" is the short answer.

The long answer? Because...amazing, and...price. Nobody is doing what Vaschenko does so affordably. His LV model is solid mahogany (there's no better way to build a '59), has period-correct electronics, is fully hand made (including hand-carved tops), and is just as sexy as can be. The neck joint is innovative and, well, amazing, the guitar does that spanky thing that a real old LP does without ever getting woofy or muddy, it isn't too heavy, and it has the kind of super-clean fretwork you can completely rely on - eyes closed, no safety net. It short, Vaschenko has created one of the ultimate alternatives to the LP.

Valery Vaschenko lives in a not-often mentioned corner or the world in Belarus and builds his LV model in limited runs of roughly 3-4 per month. You owe it to yourself to explore this one further. It doesn't get better than this!

Each guitar is made with hot hide glue and the finish is high gloss nitrocellulose lacquer. The guitar can be ordered with various humbucking pickup options or with P90 style pickups. The Standard comes with dot inlays while the 59 comes with traditional trapezoid inlays.e lacquer finish. It is available with a rosewood or ebony fingerboard that has abalone dot inlays.